


Fear

by whereiismymindd



Series: Rainy Nights [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6229096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whereiismymindd/pseuds/whereiismymindd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>9-year-old Anakin is afraid because it is raining. And he is also afraid of being afraid. Obi Wan helps him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fear

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at fanfiction. I hope you like it.
> 
> I own nothing!

Anakin was afraid. He wasn’t used to feeling that way. Master Yoda had said he sensed great fear in him, but Anakin didn’t see it. He actually happened to think he was a very brave boy. He had been a slave, he had seen things the other younglings at the temple couldn’t even imagine. He was a great pilot, he definitely wasn’t afraid of flying. And he had left his mom, his home, everything he knew to achieve his dream of becoming a Jedi. He was not a coward. He was very brave.

But water was coming down from the sky and he was afraid. The thunder had woken him up and he couldn’t go back to sleep, so he got up and went to the common room. He was standing by the window, looking at the rain and breathing deeply, trying to stop his shivering. He was brave. He was brave. He _was_ brave. Was he?

‘Padawan?’

Anakin closed his eyes. He had woken his master. He felt a hand on his shoulder and instantly tensed.

‘I’m sorry I woke you, Master!’ he said quickly.

‘It’s ok, Ani. Couldn’t sleep?’ Obi Wan just smiled at him and sat on the floor by his side, facing the window.

Anakin didn’t know what to answer. He turned to look at his master, and the kind look in his eyes and the sweet smile on his face made him say the first thing that came to mind.

‘I don’t want to go back home! Please, don’t make me go away!’

Obi Wan frowned, and turned to face the boy.

‘Ani, why do you think you will be sent away?’

‘Because I’m afraid! Master Yoda said that I am afraid, and I didn’t think so at first, but now it’s raining, and I’m scared! And fear leads to the dark side! But I’ve always wanted to be a Jedi! And I don’t want to go away, even though I miss my mom, don’t make me go away!’ Anakin was breathing hard, looking at his master with wide eyes full of tears.

Obi Wan sighed and his frown disappeared. With a gentle smile, he patted his legs.

‘Come here.’

Anakin hesitated, but then he gave in and sat on his master’s lap. Obi Wan wrapped his arms around him and Anakin relaxed. His master didn’t hug him very often, but when he did, Anakin felt safe, as if nothing could hurt him.

‘Padawan, you are not going anywhere, ok? It’s alright to be scared. We all feel scared sometimes, even Master Yoda. And you being afraid of the rain is perfectly normal, considering where you come from. You will get over it in time.’

Obi Wan looked at him, to make sure he was listening. Anakin gave a tiny nod, but his eyes were still wide with fear.

‘Deep, uncontrolled fear is what leads to the dark side. But that does not mean Jedi never get scared. I promise you, your fear of the rain is harmless. The important thing is to acknowledge that you are afraid, try to look at your fear logically, realize that you have nothing to be afraid of, and let it go. It takes time, and there are some fears we can’t completely let go of. But we must not let them control us.’

Anakin nodded more confidently this time.

‘And it seems you are doing a pretty good job, since you were standing by the window looking at what was scaring you in the face,’ added Obi Wan with a smile.

Anakin laughed. ‘The rain doesn’t have a face, Master!’

Obi Wan laughed as well, and Anakin felt proud of himself for making his master happy. But his face quickly became serious again.

‘And anyway, I wasn’t brave, Master. I was shaking the whole time,’ he confessed, looking at his lap. But Obi Wan lifted his chin with his finger and looked at him intensely.

‘You _are_ brave. You were facing your fear. It doesn’t matter that you were shaking. You were doing it anyway, and _that_ is bravery.’

Anakin smiled. He _was_ a brave boy, after all. His mater thought so, and his master was always right. Or most of the time, anyway. But…

‘Master Yoda thinks I’m afraid,’ he said, in a small voice. He usually hated behaving like an insecure little boy, but something about being in his master’s lap made him feel safe enough and he couldn’t help but voicing everything that was worrying him.

Obi Wan sighed and he looked out the window. He seemed to be thinking very carefully about what to say next.

‘I’ll tell you a secret,’ he whispered, finally. ‘Master Yoda is afraid as well. He is afraid of you. Of your power. And that is why he is paying special attention to your weaknesses. But you must not let it bother you, or scare you, Ani. You just need to be mindful of what he says and work hard to become the best Jedi you can be.’

Anakin was silent for a while.

‘Is that why you didn’t like me at first, Master? Because you were afraid of me?’

Obi Wan looked at him suddenly, surprised. It seemed he didn’t think Anakin had noticed. But Anakin had. He was a child, but a very perceptive one. Obi Wan hugged him tighter.

‘It wasn’t that I didn’t like you, Ani. I used to be a bit afraid of your power,’ Anakin looked down, saddened. But Obi Wan lifted his chin again and looked into his eyes. ‘ _Used to_. I’m not anymore. And I’m sorry if I was a bit cold to you at first. It wasn’t just your power. There were…’ Obi Wan stopped, and turned to look outside again. The rain seemed to calm him and allow him to think more clearly. Anakin found that confusing. ‘There were other things on my mind at the time,’ Obi Wan said finally, seeming lost in thought.

‘Like Qui Gon?’ he ventured, softly.

‘Yeah. Like Qui Gon.’

Anakin looked at his master silently, sensing that Obi Wan was in his own little world and he needed the space. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Obi Wan lifted him and placed him on the floor again and got up.

‘Anyway, we should get some sleep, little one,’ he said, ruffling Anakin’s hair. ‘Would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?’

Anakin had slept in his master’s bed his first few days at the temple. He kept having nightmares and he really missed his mom. However, after a few weeks, the nightmares stopped and he got used to sleeping in his own room.

‘No, thank you, Master. I think I’m ok now.’

Obi Wan smiled widely.

‘I told you, Padawan, you are a brave one. You will be a great Jedi.’

‘I hope so!’

Obi Wan turned to go to his own room, but a little voice stopped him.

‘Master… You won’t let them take me away, will you? You won’t let them take me away from you,’ Anakin asked, holding his breath, still needing some reassurance.

Obi Wan came back to kneel before him and taking Anakin’s tiny hands into his, he looked at the boy and whispered fiercely, ‘I promise you, Padawan, you will not be taken away. I won’t allow it. You will only get rid of me when you are knighted and you are ready, and probably eager, to be on your own. Ok?’

Anakin sighed, relieved. His master had _promised_. Everything would be okay.

‘Ok, Master. Thank you.’

Obi Wan hugged him and Anakin smiled into the older man’s chest. He would be safe as long as his master was by his side. Everything would be more than okay.


End file.
